Brightly (Flicker #2) (21 page)

“Was it an offering? Do you seek some blessing? Most humans offer food, you know.”

“We hoped to speak with you. We have questions.”

“Do you know me?”

“You’re Ko-kwal-al-woot,” Jason said—softly, carefully, like the name could shatter in his mouth. “The Maiden of Deception Pass.”

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes roving up and down. “It has been many years since anyone called to me so beautifully that I could not resist,” she said. “And it has been even longer since a human uttered my name to my face.” One side of her mouth twitched into what might’ve been an amused smile. “I will speak with you children. What do you seek?”

“We come from a place called Siren Island,” Clementine offered. “A few months ago, your people came to our island and displaced the colony of merfolk already living there.”

“I know,” said Ko-kwal-al-woot. “I sent them away.”

“Why?”

“A sea serpent came into our waters. It devoured all our fish, and when it was through with that, it devoured
us
. Staying here was the same as waiting to be eaten. I am the only one who remains.”

“Aren’t you worried about the serpent?” Lee asked, curious despite herself.

Ko-kwal-al-woot shook her head. “I may not have the strength to banish the serpent, but the serpent does not have the strength to devour me. Not yet.”

Davis cleared his throat nervously. “Since your people arrived, the humans who live on our island have become sick. We believe they’re being…
transformed
by your people’s magic.”

“If you’ve seen the signs, believe them,” said Ko-kwal-al-woot simply. “My people have the power to do what you describe. When they are in need, they use it to save themselves.”

“We need to stop it,” Clementine said. “That’s why we came to you—to save
our
people.”

Ko-kwal-al-woot inclined her head slightly. “Do they really need saving?”

“Of course. They never asked to be changed into merfolk,” Clementine said. “They don’t want this.”

“That isn’t true,” said Ko-kwal-al-woot. “Not anymore. If the signs of transformation have become obvious even to you, then the humans on your island are nearly ready. By now, they want nothing more than to walk into the sea and take their first breaths. They have forgotten ever wanting anything else.”

Davis pressed his mouth into a thin line. “What would happen if they didn’t go into the water? If they never joined the colony?”

Ko-kwal-al-woot’s voice was cool. “They would wither die for want of the sea. Some would fade quickly. Others might waste away for months before finally succumbing.”

“So that’s it?” Clementine sputtered. “Turn into merfolk or die? Those are the options?”

“For my people,” Ko-kwal-al-woot said seriously, “it is turn your people into merfolk or die. Those are
their
options, as long as the serpent remains.”

Taking half a step toward the water, Henry asked, “What if there was another choice? What if we made Deception Pass safe for the merfolk again?”

For the first time, Ko-kwal-al-woot looked at Henry. “You are human. You lack the power.”

Henry shook his head and knelt at the water’s edge. “You don’t understand. Let me show you.”

Ko-kwal-al-woot was silent for a moment. Then she swam closer, her seaweed hair flowing behind her, until she met Henry at the edge. At first, she just studied him in silence, looking up into his face, her gaze so intense that it unnerved even Lee.

Without warning, Ko-kwal-al-woot grabbed Henry by the shoulders and pulled him down to her, so close that their noses almost touched.

The rest of them lunged forward all at once. Almost instantly, Clementine had both hands knotted in the back of Henry’s jacket, as if to keep him from being dragged into the water. But Ko-kwal-al-woot didn’t try to pull Henry in. She just held his face between her barnacle-dotted hands and stared directly into his eyes. Henry remained perfectly still, like a butterfly pinned to a card.

“I can see it,” Ko-kwal-al-woot marveled at last. “There are birds and beasts in your eyes. You are a prize, child. You are the third choice.”

With that, she released him. Henry lurched backward, looking dazed.

Clementine hauled Henry to his feet. She still had one hand pressed protectively between his shoulder blades. “What does that mean?”

“Sea serpents,” Henry said slowly. “They’re animals, right?”

Davis paled. “You’re not serious.”

“I am. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t at least try.”

“I can come up with ten reasons!” Davis contested.

“Try what?” Alice asked.

“He wants to talk to the damn sea serpent,” Clementine huffed. “He wants to try to work his stupid animal hypnotism on it!”

“Funny,” Henry said darkly, “that you only call it stupid when I want to use it for something you don’t like.”

Clementine flushed—not with embarrassment, Lee thought, but with anger. Twin spots of color stood out on her cheeks. “Are you looking to get yourself drowned? Is that it? Do you
want
to get eaten by some overgrown water snake?”

“It’s not like that. I know what I can do, Clem.”

“No way. Anna would kill us for letting you do this.”

“Well, she’s not here, is she?” Henry said.

Clementine flinched. “You know I’m right,” she said, quieter. “You’ll be drowned.”

“That’s not true,” Filo said. He looked to Ko-kwal-al-woot. “They say nobody can drown in Deception Pass as long as they’re thinking of you. Isn’t that right?”

Ko-kwal-al-woot just smiled serenely.

Scowling, Clementine swatted Filo’s arm. “Don’t encourage him!”

Henry turned pointedly away from Clementine. “If we make the serpent leave, what will you do for us?”

“If you send the serpent back to the deeps,” Ko-kwal-al-woot said, “my people will have no reason to change yours. They can resume their life here instead of building another life somewhere else. If you make that possible, I will show you how to reverse the transformation.”

For a second, everyone froze. Henry was the first to recover, though his eyes were wide and he looked stunned. “So there
is
a way?”

“There is no magic that cannot be undone,” Ko-kwal-al-woot said. “There is always a way.”

“And you’ll show us how?”

“Only if you banish the serpent so my people can come home. But if you can do that—if you can do what you were born to do—then you have my word.” Ko-kwal-al-woot began to drift backward. “Go to the bridge. You can always find the serpent there. Call and it will answer.”

“Wait,” Clementine started, but Ko-kwal-al-woot had already slipped under the steely water, mist sliding in to fill the space she had occupied. Only her hair remained visible, drifting in the current like normal seaweed, and then that disappeared, too, and she was gone.

Chapter Twelve:

“If we do this,” Filo said, “we’ll have to wait for nightfall. The last thing we need is a huge group of normals spotting a sea serpent thrashing around in the pass while they’re driving over the bridge, or boating, or fishing. At night, we’ll at least have some cover.”

After Ko-kwal-al-woot disappeared into the waters of Deception Pass, they’d trooped back to the van, which Henry had parked in a mostly-empty campground. Henry headed out of the park and drove north to Anacortes. He stopped at the first fast food restaurant he spotted. They’d staked out a spot near the back; Filo dragged a table over their booth so they all had room to sit. The restaurant was crowded with the lunchtime rush, so there was plenty of noise to cover their conversation.

Even if anyone overheard them, it was no matter. In the event that someone started giving them funny looks, Lee had decided she was just going to say they were planning a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and leave it at that.

“Emphasis on
if
,” Clementine said tightly. Since they left the beach, she had hardly looked at Henry, as if the very sight of him was unspeakably frustrating to her, but she hadn’t stopped arguing against his plan.

“Clem,” Henry said, with an exasperation Lee hadn’t heard since the last time Filo had tried to explain to her the difference between two types of powdered dragon horn that looked completely identical. “You’re being ridiculous. Davis, tell her she’s being ridiculous.”

Davis looked down at his hands. From the other side of the table, Henry watched him expectantly. Davis squirmed a little under Henry’s gaze before finally admitting, “I don’t feel good about this.”

Henry blinked. “Are you serious?”

“Are
you
?” Davis retorted, but he sounded flustered, like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “You’re the one who wants to pick a fight with a sea serpent!”

“Apparently, I’m the only one who wants to do anything at all! You’re just sitting on your hands!”

Watching them, Lee suspected what the trouble was: Henry might’ve known Clementine would protest, had probably expected her to—but he’d trusted Davis to take his side.

Before they could begin arguing in earnest, Nasser leaned his elbows on the table and said, “Let’s try to think about this rationally for a minute.”

Clementine shot him an accusatory look. He raised his hands in a placating gesture, one Lee had seen him use when he edged in to break up one of Filo and Jason’s quarrels.

“I’m not saying we should do anything in particular,” Nasser assured her. “I have no preference either way. I just think we should talk through our options before anyone digs their heels in.”

Clementine opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Alice and Jason, who returned to the table with a pile of food heaped on a plastic tray. As they started divvying up the food, Alice looked to Henry and asked, “Do you really think your magic will work on a sea serpent?”

“It’s not like I’ve ever tried it before,” Henry said. “But I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. It’s an animal.”

“A really
big
animal,” Clementine said darkly. “How big do serpents get, anyway?”

Henry shrugged. “It depends. In the open sea, their size is only limited by their life span and how much food they can get, since most species grow until they die. Older serpents might be two hundred feet long or more. But this one’s been living in Deception Pass for months without anybody noticing anything other than freak whirlpools, so it couldn’t be anywhere near that size. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s no longer than sixty feet, give or take—but that’s a very rough estimate.”

“Oh,
only
sixty feet,” Clementine grumbled. “I feel so much better now. Let’s see…” She started counting off points on her fingers. “We have no idea of how big the serpent is, no idea if your magic will work on it, no idea how it’ll react to us bothering it if your magic
doesn’t
work—”

“The point is,” Henry said, trying to speak over her without much success, “I know what I can do, and I can do this.”

“The point
is
,” Clementine snapped, “you’re an idiot!”

“We’ll all be there,” Jason said. “It won’t just be Henry. He won’t be alone.”

“He’ll be the only one getting so close to that damn serpent,” Clementine said coldly. “So he might as well be.”

“What did the Maiden say, again?” Nasser interjected.

“If we can get rid of the serpent, she’ll show us how to break the curse and reverse the transformation,” Henry said. “She gave her word. We do this one thing, and everything else falls into place.”

“You’re sure we can’t find a way to break it without her help?” Clementine asked. She looked pleadingly to Davis, who shook his head, resigned.

“We’ve tried everything,” Davis said. “Even if we kept searching on our own, it could take months to find anything concrete—and that’s assuming we find anything at all. They’re getting sicker every day. I don’t like the idea of any of us going anywhere near a sea serpent. I don’t like it at all. But we’re running out of time. I’m not seeing another good option.”

“I can do it, Clem,” Henry insisted. “I have to try. I’m a coward if I don’t.”

“And if it kills you?” she asked, looking up at him. Her jaw was set, but her voice quivered—not with anger, Lee realized, but with fear.

“They’re our people,” Henry said, quiet but firm. “They’re our responsibility. Saving them is worth the risk.”

Clementine slapped her hand against the table, hard. “But it’s not worth losing
you
!”

The people at the next table looked over at her. Clementine met their stares with an icy look that made them wince away. When she turned back to Henry, her eyes were shiny.

“If I had to pick,” she whispered. “If I absolutely
had
to pick between letting them go and keeping you safe—”

“Clem…”

She shook her head. “The sea already took Anna. It can’t have you, too.”

Henry reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Clem,” he promised. “It won’t.”